Vol. 2: The Tactician and the Jewel: Chapter 10: The Farseer         Chapter 2: Birds of a Feather

 

Okay! It’s NaNoWriMo again, and having written about twenty thousand words on a Jarvis fic (which may or may not end up here) and about three thousand on a Clintasha fic (abandoned for the moment as I can’t get into their messed-up heads or lives, despite having read a ton of fanfic about them), I’m beginning the first big project, which is of course the finishing of the Rekka no Ken novelization. Which is Fire Emblem 7, for those of you keeping track. I’ll try to get the first ten or so chapters done, and then maybe take a break. I think Vol. 3 (this one) might be actually longer than ten chapters, considering that it takes ten chapters to go to the Dread Isle and back for the first time, and the Black Fang doesn’t really get revealed until after that; and the dragons don’t come in until closer to the end… so this might be a bit more irregular than the first two ‘books’.

I’m greatly looking forward to finishing this story, and it’s not going to follow most of the dialogue, because I find most of it stilted. I love Hector’s dialogue, however… not to mention Hector’s shirtless body…

Pairings! For those of you interested in that sort of thing: Eliwood/Ninian, Ceniro(tactician)/Lyn/Hector, Florina/Wil, Fiora/Kent, Farina/Dart, Sain/Salir(OC), Rebecca/Lowen, Pent/Louise, Heath/Priscilla, Matthew/Leila, Bartre/Karla, Nino/Jaffar, Isadora/Harken, Ephidel/Limstella – pretty standard vanilla pairings for the most part, but hey, nothin’ wrong with that. : ) And not all of these might make a solid appearance. Certain things like Bartre/Karla you might just have to take on faith seeing as FE6 is the way it is if you know what I mean. (Hey, it’s 4am, who said I had to be coherent?)

So here goes. Thank you to the internet for giving me the game text, so I don’t have to actually play it and record it by hand and then not use it anyway. XD

 

Rekka no Ken: Vol. 3: The Tactician and the Black Fang

 

Chapter 1: Taking Leave

 

No one in the inn of Feres Village paid much attention to the stranger who entered at sunset one summer evening. His green cloak was dirty and ragged; his brown hair in dire need of a trim; but his grey eyes were cheerful, if tired.

He only wanted a meal, he told the innkeeper – he couldn’t afford a room.

The innkeeper shrugged and told him to find a corner anywhere he liked after the inn closed.

Ceniro thanked him with a big smile on his shy face; Pherae was just as friendly as he had left it. It probably helped that he looked quite harmless and had a Santaruz accent.

When morning broke, the young tactician was startled out of his sleep by shouting and screaming from outside. He jumped up, heedless of the crick in his neck, hurriedly fastening his cloak, and ran out to see what was happening.

Bandits were attacking, were already inside the village walls. One of them was roaring about gold and loot and tribute and Ceniro rolled his eyes. Then he caught sight of a shaking young man in yellow armour, guarding a young – very young – woman, out of sight of the bandits. The knight had a horse, but was apparently too nervous to ride.

Ceniro slipped over to him. “Hey. Who are you?”

“I’m Lowen of Pherae, sir; bodyguard to Lord Eliwood. W-we’re trapped! How are we g-going to make it out of this?”

“Shh, shh,” the girl tried to sooth him. “It’s okay. There’ll be an opening. We can go for help soon.”

Ceniro popped out his farseer, tucking his staff under his arm, and disabled the troop scanner so the flash wouldn’t give away their position. The map of the surrounding area was still there from the previous day. “Lowen, yes? We have to make it to the castle to bring reinforcements, is that the plan?” He glanced around, peeking carefully out of the alley.

“Lord Eliwood and General Marcus are nearby, but I don’t know where,” Lowen said. “Wh-what is that?”

“It’s the source of our salvation,” Ceniro said. “Sorry, that’s too dramatic. It’s a tactical tool. The bandits aren’t here yet. Do we care if they follow us?”

“Yes, we care!” the girl said. “They’ll kill us!”

“You’re carrying a bow,” Ceniro pointed out. “You probably don’t want to kill anyone, but you might have to.”

She drew herself up determinedly. “I will kill anyone who threatens my lord’s land and my papa.”

“Good girl. All right. Lowen, you and…”

“Rebecca.”

“Rebecca get on the horse. I’ll be right behind you. Follow my directions and I’ll get you to Lord Eliwood safely.”

“How can we trust you?” Lowen asked. The girl pinched him where the armour didn’t cover. “Ow! You’re far too calm in this situation.”

“I’ve been in this situation before. I can handle it. My name is Ceniro, I’m from Santaruz, I’m an Ostia-trained tactician. Do you trust me?”

“He’s obviously a good guy. I trust him.” Rebecca shouldered her bow and nodded at him.

“Hurry,” Ceniro urged. “I don’t know this village well, but we have to move now.”

Lowen helped Rebecca onto his horse behind him. “Are you sure you don’t want a ride, Sir Ceniro?”

Ceniro peered around the corner. “Go… now! Go, go, go.” He sprinted for the second gate of the village. As he ran, he activated the farseer’s scan, knowing that Lowen’s horse would attract as much attention or more than the magic flare, and he would need to be able to see where the enemies were.

Lowen galloped past him.

“We’re going to be flanked!” Ceniro yelled. “Lowen, move right!”

Lowen moved away from the charging bandit, glancing back at Ceniro, who was much slower than a horse, even if he was slightly faster than the fat bandits.

“Don’t worry about me!” Ceniro shouted, dodging an axe swing and running as hard as he could. The bandits were almost all at the other end of town, but more were coming in their direction. He left the road, hoping it would slow them down more than it slowed him. “Ride to that hill, I’ll meet you at the foot!”

Of course, now the bandits had heard that. Crap. How fast could he add Lowen and Rebecca to the ‘allies’ category? With one hand, since he was still carrying his staff with the other?

Forget that.

The bandits were still on his heels; he could hear grunts and yells and once in a while, the whoosh of an axe. He didn’t dare turn around – that was the best way to trip and die, especially on this fallow field.

An arrow whizzed through the air, and someone behind him yelled in pain. Lowen was waiting ahead of him under a small group of trees, and Rebecca was nocking another arrow to her bow.

“Go get Lord Eliwood,” Ceniro panted. “Have him bring reinforcements.”

“But I can help-” Rebecca began.

“I hear and obey, Sir Ceniro,” Lowen replied, and left at a gallop.

“Good man,” Ceniro panted, and circled around a tree to see where his pursuers were.

There were only two, and one of them was bleeding in the arm.

Ceniro smiled a little. “No Lyn to save my life this time, but if Eliwood’s close…” He twirled his staff and waited for their attacks.

They were slow and fat. They weren’t from around here; Lord Elbert, Eliwood’s father, would have run them out in a week.

He dodged an attack from one and rapped the other in the ribs with his staff. He was sure he heard a gentle ‘crack’ that was from a breaking rib. To the bandit’s credit, he didn’t waste too much time hunching over in pain, and Ceniro took a step back to keep them both in view.

“Ceniro!” came a shout, and Ceniro spared a glance to see vaguely familiar red hair approaching.

“Little help?” he called, and the thunder of hoofbeats was his reply.

A heavily armoured knight in full career charged into both bandits from the side, decapitating both of them with skilful swings of his sword.

Ceniro gave in a little to the burn in his legs and bent over, breathing hard. “Eli- Lord Eliwood. Thanks. Is that General Marcus?”

“Indeed it is,” Eliwood answered, as sweet-spoken as Ceniro remembered, despite the long rapier in his hand. “I remember you, weren’t you at Lady Lyn’s side last year, when she returned to Caelin?”

“Yep,” Ceniro said, finally straightening up.

“My lord…” Rebecca spoke up, no longer riding Lowen’s horse. “Can we please help my papa?”

“Yes, right away! Ceniro, you are a tactician, are you not?”

Ceniro fished out the farseer again. “You want my assistance?”

“Assistance with what?” General Marcus asked, riding up to stand intimidatingly close to Ceniro, who swallowed a little.

“I’m a tactician. Trained in Ostia under Lord Garlent. I can help strategize to defeat the bandits.”

Marcus looked at the village. “They are dull and weak. No strategy is needed here. Besides, I am the General of Pherae.”

“Marcus…” Eliwood said, raising a hand. “I think Ceniro can help us. I’ll explain later, but for now, would you come with us?”

“I would be happy to. But Rebecca’s right.” Ceniro looked at Marcus, not wanting to step on obviously dignified toes.

“Then let us away! Lowen, with me!” Marcus spurred his horse and Lowen obediently followed him.

Eliwood trotted after the knights, Rebecca and Ceniro following him. “I’m sorry, he’s just looking out for me. He didn’t meet you last year, and with father’s disappearance, he’s been on edge. I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you. I hope I get a chance to prove my worth. Wait, Lord Elbert disappeared?”

“You didn’t know?”

“I, uh, was in Ilia.”

“You walked from Ilia?”

Ceniro glanced at his farseer. “Sorry, we can become acquainted later. For now, we need to go around to the other gate, because the bandits are going to try to draw out Lowen.”

They were nearly to the other gate, moving as quickly as they could without drawing attention to themselves, when two figures jumped out of the ditch beside the road. “Ceniro!” said one.

Rebecca screamed, and Ceniro clutched his chest, gasping. “Dorcas? Don’t scare me like that! Can you help us? We’re fighting these bandits.”

“At once, sir. This is my friend Bartre.”

“Hi!” said the other big man, flexing and making his muscles ripple under his blue tunic. “Saving the villages, huh? What a right lordly thing to do!”

“You talk too much,” Dorcas said quietly. Bartre laughed.

“Nice to meet you. We need to get through this gate in time to save the yellow knight from getting ambushed. So you two, please take on the bandit you will find immediately inside and to your right. Rebecca, target the bandit on the other side of the square, and Eliwood…”

“I can fight,” Eliwood assured him.

“Take on the one in the middle. I’ll help.”

Hoofbeats announced the arrival of the knights, having dealt with the bandits in the southern half of the village. “Go,” Ceniro ordered, and they put the plan in motion.

The leader of the bandits happened to be the one Eliwood was facing. “What is this, a pack of children coming to play? You think you can challenge me?”

“Challenge you and kill you,” Marcus boomed, and the bandit leader spun around. His eyes widened.

“Pheraen knights!? But that’s impossible – they’re all dea-” Eliwood sidestepped as Marcus lanced the bandit through the chest. He coughed blood as he fell to his knees. “And I thought my luck… was finally turning around…”

Marcus came to a halt in front of Eliwood. “I believe the bandits have been neutralized, my lord.” He nodded to Dorcas and Bartre. “I took the liberty of hiring these men to supplement your escort.”

“I know Sir Dorcas as well,” Eliwood said, and as the lord and the knight talked, Ceniro checked his farseer to ensure the enemies were truly destroyed, and moved over to talk to Dorcas.

“Hello, Dorcas,” Ceniro said. “How’s Natalie?”

“She is doing well,” Dorcas answered. “She is in Pherae Castle Town, and so was I until Bartre came to me with the offer from General Marcus.” A slight smile crossed his face. “It seems my actions fighting bandits in Bern this winter caught some eyes.”

“And a good job for you, too,” Ceniro said.

“She is much less worried for my safety since I am with Lord Eliwood. You?”

“I travelled. Some more. A lot. I did a campaign in Etruria, went to Ilia to study pegasus wings…”

“Ceniro,” Eliwood called, and Ceniro turned. “Like I was saying before, would you join us?”

“My lord,” Marcus began.

“Marcus,” Eliwood said, in almost the same tone, although the look on his face suggested it was an unconscious imitation and he was not mocking his knight. “You read the reports on Lady Lyn’s successful deposition of Lord Lundgren last year. This is the man responsible for her success.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Ceniro said, smiling, “but I did have a hand in some of it. Although if you were listening to news from Etruria, that business with Lord Pent of Reglay and an attempted coup on King Mordred by… that other guy? I was involved in that, too.”

Marcus frowned. “Still, you are young, and two campaigns is not much of a resume.”

Ceniro shrugged. “I know. There’s a number of factors…”

“Marcus. Please. Trust me. Let him direct us. He’s supposedly a genius.”

“Okay, who told you that?” Ceniro said.

“It’s not an exaggeration,” Dorcas said. “Ceniro, you’re not supposed to sell yourself short when trying to get a job.”

Ceniro blushed. “I, ah…”

“Marcus,” Eliwood said again.

Marcus huffed. “So be it.”

“Thank you,” Eliwood said, all smiles.

There was a middle-aged man approaching, and Rebecca ran to him and embraced him. “Papa!”

“Rebecca! You are safe. Were you fighting? What has come over you, child?”

“I wanted to help save you, papa. Look! Lord Eliwood came to help us!”

“Yes, I wanted to thank you for coming to our aid, Lord Eliwood.” The older man bowed.

“No thanks are necessary,” Eliwood said. “It’s a lord’s duty to protect his people.”

“Would that were true, my lord. The good people of Laus know no such protection. Lord Darin prepares for war and cares not for trifling complaints about bandits and brigands.”

Eliwood frowned. “Wait, preparing for war?”

“I would not lie to you, my lord. My brother lived there until a few days ago, when his village was attacked by bandits. He has come to live with me.”

“It’s true,” an even older man said, coming up behind him. “Laus could go to war any day now. With whom, I do not know. But it’s all the people talk about.”

“I’m surprised we have not heard of this yet,” Marcus said in a low voice. “Who could he go to war with? The Lycian League, I thought, was past such squabbles. Lord Uther would not brook such insult to the peace.”

“Perhaps he has something to do with Father,” Eliwood said. “We should go to him.”

“So few, against an army?” Marcus asked. “I doubt even a genius tactician could get us an audience in that situation.”

“But I’m friends with Erik, and he has no quarrel with me…”

“My lord, you are too naive.”

Eliwood smiled ruefully. “No, just thinking wishfully. I understand it will be dangerous. That’s why none of you have to come if you don’t want to.”

“I will not leave your side, Lord Eliwood,” Marcus said.

“Nor I,” Lowen said, although his voice was not as confident as his general’s.

“You paid us to come, so we’re coming,” Dorcas said.

“I’m not going anywhere that’s, uh, not where you guys are going!” Bartre said.

“I’m coming,” Rebecca said firmly.

“Rebecca…” Eliwood began. “Are you sure?”

She lifted her chin. “I’m sure, my lord. I know that I don’t know anything about the world outside the village, and that my hunting skills are not up to military standards, but I’m still a pretty good shot, and I want to repay you for saving the village. I’m stronger than I look.”

“But your father?”

“I just settled it with him.”

“Did he know you were thinking of heading into a potential war zone?”

“Sort of?” She paused. “I’m still coming!”

“I’ll keep you safe,” Ceniro said. “Or at least, alive. I’m good at keeping people alive.”

She grinned at him. “That’s good!”

“Then you are also coming for sure, Ceniro?”

Ceniro nodded. “I am not doing anything else right now, and it’s been a while since I was to Laus… I would like to help.”

“Then that is decided,” Eliwood said. “Sir, thank you for your kindness. If bandits threaten again, send word to Isadora at the castle. She is the highest-ranking knight there. She will bring out the troops to protect you.”

“Thank you, my lord. Godspeed on your journey.”

The party set out along the road north. They would have to pass through Santaruz and the southern part of Caelin to reach Laus; it would take them a few days. Ceniro decided to place his trust in Marcus having planned where they would stay the night and moved up beside Eliwood at the lord’s inviting gesture.

“So, Ceniro, tell me about these Etrurian adventures you mentioned.”

They barely knew each other. Ceniro was still a bit nervous about being surrounded by strangers, one of whom didn’t even trust him, although one of the others was not a stranger – was Dorcas – so that more than made up for it. But Eliwood was so open and friendly, it felt like they had known each other for a long time already.

 

 

Vol. 2: The Tactician and the Jewel: Chapter 10: The Farseer         Chapter 2: Birds of a Feather